Page
52
of 420 interested in collaborating with them as a case study. Also, it was explained to the participant scientists that they would be observed and recorded during the case studies, and would be ask to participate in pre- and post-case study interviews.During the data collection and other stages of the research, the main ethical issue arising related to intellectual property. Regulations within the university governed all intellectual property generated during the case studies, including the regulation on IP subject to third party agreed terms, to comply with the research funding body (EPSRC) IP regulations. However, no agreement was promoted to clarify designers and scientists’ share of the IP of ideas/output arising from the case studies. Although there were no disputes in any of the case studies, the research group identified potential issues on this subject, and found it advisable to clarify this at the beginning of future collaborative projects.
Page
53
of 420 These phases were mostly sequential but they overlapped and ran in parallel on occasions. For example the literature review, which was the centre of the research activity at the beginning of the project, continued with lower intensity during all stages until the end. In practice, data analysis activities started almost simultaneously with the case studies and were carried out in parallel. Similarly, the analysis and synthesis data stages occurred simultaneously in several occasions. For example, the study findings were generated while the report was being written.Diagram 3.2 offers an overview of the research phases and how they are interconnected. It also shows the research output at different stages.
Page
54
of 420 Diagram 3.2 Research phases, activities and outputPage
55
of 420 3.4.1 Phase 1 Literature reviewIn phase one, the literature was reviewed with the purpose of understanding the extent of existing knowledge on the subject of collaboration between designers and scientists in scientific research.
The literature review was carried out using online resources such as:
Academic search engines: EBSCO, Scopus, Science Direct, Academia.edu, etc
Academic publishers’ online databases: Springer, JSTOR, Taylor &
Francis, etc
Online public search resources: Scribd, Free PDF Search Engine, Google books, Google scholar, etc.
Also, the library databases of Cambridge University and of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design were consulted. Additionally, an initial search was made by writing to the online JISCMAIL PHD-DESIGN list.
Papers and books were searched using relevant key words such as:
Design, science, designer, scientist, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, collaboration, cooperation, technology, scientific research, design process, research method.
Papers’ and books’ bibliographies were also reviewed as a method of finding other related papers and books.
Page
56
of 420 Relevant papers were selected and printed. The hard copies were filed and grouped in several categories to make consultation easier: Science and scientific research
Collaboration in science
Design and design process
Design and science
Designers collaborating with people from other disciplines
Art and science collaboration
Interdisciplinarity.
The papers were also classified and filed electronically using the software EndNotes and the online resource Delicious, and kept as PDF files.
The literature review looked at three different relevant areas: Design, Science and Interdisciplinary Studies. From the Design area, this study drew conclusions from existing knowledge about designers collaborating with scientists and with other professionals of discipline other than science as presented in Chapter 1 of this thesis. This was also complemented by studies that examined collaboration between artists and scientists. Literature on the Design area also served to compare designers and scientists as members of different disciplines as presented in Chapter 3, and to explain the nature of design work as shown in Chapter 4.
Page
57
of 420 The literature review of the Science area was fundamental to describe the nature of scientific research as illustrated in Chapter 5, and also served to compare designers and scientists as shown in Chapter 1.Finally, as collaboration between designers and scientists can be an example of interdisciplinarity, literature was reviewed in the area of Interdisciplinary Studies. This was used to explain models of interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as barriers enablers of collaboration, in Chapter 6.
The literature review generated two main outcomes. First, it helped to identify a research gap, making evident the need for empirical evidence to corroborate and complement existing knowledge on the subject; and secondly, it served to formulate the research question.
Diagram 3.3 synthesises how each area of the literature review contributed to specific chapters of the analysis framework.
Page
58
of 420 Diagram 3.3 Different areas of the literature review contributed to specific chapters of theanalysis framework. (Research methods literature also contributed to the development of Chapters 3, 7 and 9)
The analytical framework provides the theoretical background for the research on relevant key themes. In this thesis, some individual chapters relate to each one of these themes. Chapter 1 explains how designers and scientists collaborate, and Chapter 3 illustrates the disciplinary differences between designers and scientists. Chapter 4 offers details on how designers work and Chapter 5 on how scientists
Page
59
of 420 work. In addition, Chapter 6 explains relevant theoretical elements from interdisciplinary studies.3.4.2 Phase 3 Case studies
The case studies involved collaboration between a team of designers and scientists conducting research across a range of natural and applied sciences: medicine, biochemistry, engineering, material sciences, chemical engineering and plant sciences, genetics and chemistry.7
Also, officers from the University technology transfer office (UTTO) were involved at the beginning, liaising between the designers and the scientists, and during the case studies partaking occasionally in meetings as participant observers. The working group composed of designers, scientists and UTTO officers is called the Project team. The working group made up of designers is called the Design team.
Project Team= (Scientist(s) + design team + University technology transfer officer(s))
7 The choice of case studies from the Natural and Applied sciences over social and formal sciences responded to the natural and applied sciences direct linkage to technological development. This falls in line with the project “Design in Science”’s purpose to “understand the impact of design skills on the development of new technology in the science base” (Moultrie [2009]). It also followed a logistic reasoning: within the time and resources available for the research, the research team felt that including social sciences and formal sciences would have made the project scope too wide and unmanageable.
Page
60
of 420 Design team= (2 Designers (Industrial and Product) + project director)8.
Occasionally, brainstorm sessions were carried out. Participants in these sessions varied but normally they included the project team plus guest designers and/or scientists.
3.4.2.1 Case study stages
There were two stages of case studies. The first stage included 3 exploratory case studies and the second comprised 2 development case studies. While the exploratory cases dealt with scientific research in various stages, the development case studies were concerned with scientific research in its early stages.
The case studies stages were defined by their purpose and length.
The overall purpose of the case studies in the first stage was to enable an initial analysis of the potential impact of design expertise and to help focus the research objectives. The case studies were chosen to reflect a range of scientific research projects at different stages of development. This in turn would inform the selection of further detailed cases. The purpose of the
8 Since the case studies were conducted by participant observation, the design team was also the research team. This and further chapters will refer either to the research team or the design team according to the role they are performing.
Page
61
of 420 case studies in the second stage was to examine the potential contribution of designers to scientific research at specifically its early stages9.Another difference between the 2 stages was of operational order: in the first stage the research team felt it was easier to get the interest of scientists that were already looking for a designer contribution to their pursuit of commercialising their research.
In contrast, during the second stage the research team felt more confident to approach scientists with no commercial intentions, because they already had the results of their first stage case studies to show their capabilities and the collaboration’s potential benefits to the scientists.
3.4.2.2 Case study duration
The initial idea was to undertake 4 exploratory case studies of 2 months of duration each over a period of 8 months for the first stage, and 5 development case studies of the same length over a period of 20 months for the second stage. However, this plan was modified due to a number of factors.
First, timetabling meetings between designers, busy scientists and officers from the UTTO with different work schedules and
9The initial case studies plan was outlined in the “Design in Science: Deign Disruption” document by James Moultrie[2009)
Page
62
of 420 working in different locations was not always easy. Secondly, the type of design projects undertaken during the case studies and their complexity required longer periods of development than expected. In fact, some of the projects offered the designers new challenges they were not used to, such as dealing with very small objects or developing and prototyping concepts using solely design software. Also, the tight correlation between understanding the underlying scientific principles of the projects and their success demanded additional sessions of consultation between designers and scientists to ensure that these principles were correctly understood. Furthermore, in some of the projects the design need or the project scope was (deliberately) not clearly identified at the outset, which also resulted in additional consultation and discussions. Thirdly, the designers were working in a context in which access to modelling and prototyping facilities and equipment was limited. Having to resort to external providers for the development of prototypes and being limited by cost, the design development sometimes took longer than would have been the case if these resources had been more readily available. The end result was that the length of the case studies in the first stage was 4, 8 and 9 months over a period of 12 months (some of the cases overlapped).At the end of the first stage the design group felt that trying to limit the duration of the case studies to 2 months was not
Page
63
of 420 beneficial. The results suggested that in order to obtain a more meaningful contribution to scientific research, the development cases studies of the second stage needed to be longer and to have more flexible termination deadlines. So instead of aiming to complete the 8 case studies originally planned, the group decided to undertake fewer cases and spend as much time as necessary to complete them. Eventually 2 of these cases evolved and developed, becoming longer projects of 15 and 20 months and were the main development case studies.
3.4.2.3 Case study selection
The process of selecting case studies changed during the project.
At the beginning of the study it was easier to choose from a variety of potential case studies, since the design team was looking for scientific research projects at different stages of evolution. However, towards the second stage the choices were less abundant and the available case studies were less suitable, since similar case studies had already been carried out in the first stage. Thus it was more difficult to find case studies with the potential to generate new knowledge.
The search for case studies was carried out using three different approaches. First, the university’s research service division was approach by the research team, to obtain names of scientists to
Page
64
of 420 conduct initial interviews. They acquired a long list of potential scientists for collaboration. The research team contacted 40 of them and eventually interviewed 12 scientists. These scientists were asked to name others with a potential interest in participating in the case studies. This approach resulted in the identification of one of the development case studies. The second strategy was to spread word about the research by making presentations in events linking research and entrepreneurship in the university. This also involved conversations with departmental entrepreneurship champions. From this came one of the main development case studies. The third strategy was to contact the University Technology Transfer Office (UTTO), looking for potential interested scientists. The research group hoped that the UTTO’s university-wide network of scientists would be helpful in making contact with scientists interested in developing their research towards a commercial venture. This proved to be the most effective method to find case studies. The UTTO did more than simply provide names, actively seeking out potential case studies, facilitating meetings with the scientists and supporting and following the case studies which they helped to obtain. Five of the case studies came from the UTTO. A detailed account of the case studies will form the content of Chapter 7 of this thesis.Page
65
of 420 3.4.3 Phase 3 Collaboration matrix/findings generation (Data Analysis)The data from the case studies were analysed to determine patterns, common issues and differences among them. Analysis was carried out mainly through the narrative reconstruction of the study cases, using recordings, documents and design outputs to trigger memories and reflections. Graphics, tables and diagrams were also fundamental in supporting analytical work.
The data analysis was developed through different activities, starting almost simultaneously with the case studies and extending over the synthesis stage. During the case studies several analytical activities were regularly completed:
After meetings and work sessions between designers and scientists, the designers reverted to their role of researchers to recap and reflect on the events on the day. This practice helped to identify meaningful aspects of the interaction between designers and researchers, and to improve understanding of the collaboration.
A written diary was kept with reflections and thoughts on the development of the case studies. This contributed to keep important memories of the collaboration, but also to analyse different aspects of the collaboration.
Page
66
of 420 Academic papers, conference presentations and a first year report carried out during the case studies stage helped to develop an initial analytical work, consisting of making an overall comparison between the preliminary case studies results and data from literature.
During the analysis stage three main analytical activities were carried out. First, a collaboration matrix was developed and case studies were mapped onto it. Next, each of the case studies was examined to determine the stage of scientific research in which they were positioned. Finally, the case studies were scrutinised against each of the research sub-questions utilising the collaboration matrix, the case studies descriptive account, and varied aspects of the analytical framework.
The collaboration matrix was developed with the purpose of mapping collaborations to visualise how design activity and scientific research occurred, and the involvement of designers and scientists. The development of the matrix aimed to make it possible to look at the internal aspects of each case study and to draw comparisons between them.
The collaboration matrix’s main structure was based on Mackay and Fayard [1977)’s model of representation for projects involving design and scientific activity. The collaboration matrix aspects relating to
Page
67
of 420 scientific research were based on relevant literature about the scientific research process (explained in Chapter 5 of this thesis). Aspects related to design were based on the individual researchers’ design experience but also on observations about the way in which the design work occurred during the case studies.After this, each of the case studies was mapped on the collaboration matrix (illustrated in Chapter 7). For that purpose, the research team met to recall and annotate collaboration development and events.
Email exchange between designers and scientists was also reviewed, as were the notes in the researcher’s diary.
In order to reinforce the validity of the tool and the researchers’
recollection/description/mapping of the case studies, scientists involved in the case studies were interviewed. The interviews elicited their views on the accuracy of the collaboration matrix with regard to its description of scientific research activity, and in respect of the reliability of the researchers’ account of the collaboration. After this the matrix structure and some aspects of the mapping were modified accordingly.
Finally, the matrix collaboration served to analyse the case studies in respect to the research question. This involved a twofold strategy. On one hand, the matrix was utilised as a tool to examine specific aspects of collaboration within the case studies. This was done with the purpose
Page
68
of 420 of understanding the different ways in which designers and scientists can collaborate. On the other, it was employed to make a comparison between evidence obtained from the case studies and existing knowledge about the designers’ contribution to scientific research.In order to analyse the case studies with regard to the stage of scientific research in which they were positioned, this research examined the case studies retrospective account, and located the case studies on the diagram of scientific research (developed in Chapter 3). The analysis included a reflection on the impact that design intervention had on the research direction in each of the case studies.
This research scrutinised all case studies differently according to the research questions. To start with the question about the possible forms of collaboration between designers and scientists, this research examined different aspects of collaboration evidenced in the collaboration matrix case studies maps. Then, the results were compared with the model of collaboration developed in the analysis framework (see Chapter 6).
To address the questions about the role of designers in scientific research, their contribution to scientific research and the barriers and enablers of collaboration, this research drew conclusions from the retrospective account of the case studies and compared them with
Page
69
of 420 specific and relevant aspects from the analysis framework (Chapters 1, 4 and 6).To examine the question on the areas of scientific research on which design can have an impact, this research compared the conclusions previously drawn from designers’ roles and contribution with a model of the scientific research process based on the collaboration matrix (see further information in Chapter 7).
3.4.4 Phase 4 Report writing (Data Synthesis)
The data synthesis of this research was developed through the writing of this thesis. Starting with the development of the analysis framework, each of its main themes was assigned to a chapter. At the beginning of each chapter there is an introduction, followed by the respective theme development and a concluding summary, normally illustrated by graphics or tables.
The case studies were synthesised through a narrative description and by their mapping on the collaboration matrix. There is a general introduction which describes how the case studies were conducted, followed by an individual description of each of them. Pictures complement the case studies description.
Page
70
of 420 Most of the findings of this research are explained with reference to the individual case studies. Accompanied by graphics, tables, diagrams and pictures, the findings are structured in sections corresponding to each of the individual research sub-questions.At the end of this thesis, conclusions are made with written explanations and diagrams.